Category Archives: Q&A

Q&A with Jennifer Close, author of THE SMART ONE

April 21, 2013 – 11:58 pm

I was lucky to attend a reading by Jennifer Close, author of the new book The Smart One, at Politics & Prose last weekend. Close is the author of Girls in White Dresses, which came out in the summer of 2011. I really enjoyed Girls in White Dresses and jumped at the chance to read The Smart One (coming up next on the TBR list!). Here is a synopsis from Goodreads:

Weezy Coffey’s parents had always told her she was the smart one, while her sister was the pretty one. “Maureen will marry well,” their mother said, but instead it was Weezy who married well, to a kind man and good father. Weezy often wonders if she did this on purpose—thwarting expectations just to prove her parents wrong.

But now that Weezy’s own children are adults, they haven’t exactly been meeting her expectations either. Her oldest child, Martha, is thirty and living in her childhood bedroom after a spectacular career flameout. Martha now works at J.Crew, folding pants with whales embroidered on them and complaining bitterly about it. Weezy’s middle child, Claire, has broken up with her fiancé, canceled her wedding, and locked herself in her New York apartment—leaving Weezy to deal with the caterer and florist. And her youngest, Max, is dating a college classmate named Cleo, a girl so beautiful and confident she wears her swimsuit to family dinner, leaving other members of the Coffey household blushing and stammering into their plates.

Here is what Close said at the Q&A:

Q: Are your characters based on people you know?

JC: People will always think that. The answer is: not really. There is a little of me in Martha and in her mother too – they are both worrisome people, and I tend to worry a lot. I tend to take traits and heighten them in my characters. I don’t have a sister, but I found it fun to write about a sister relationship in The Smart One. My characters are never based solely on one person, but things to tend to creep in.

Q: How did you decide which characters in The Smart One would have the story told from their perspective?

JC: Claire was easy. And then once I included a conversation about Clarie and Martha, I had to give Martha’s perspective. The Smart One is about the roles played in a family, how they never really go away. Thus, I needed to give the mom’s perspective too. Cleo is outside the family, so she sees them objectively. She’s a fresh voice.

Q: What does The Smart One say about parenting

JC: There are no big, bold statements. I wrote it in Spring 2009; the magazine I was working for folded, and a lot of people I knew had lost their jobs. People were moving home. I took that in, and wrote about it. Where do people go when they have no job or income? This hadn’t happened in generations before like it does now. Parents don’t stop being parents – here, Weezy is controlling, and stays that way. We are all staying children longer.

Q: How has your writing style evolved from book #1 to book #2, and through teaching?

JC: Teaching reminds me why I love writing so much. I love being edited, because sometimes I just stop being able to see my words. I am not sure if my style has evolved; my voice seems the same it was in book #1. Chatty.

Q: Talk about your retail experience at Politics & Prose Did your background at various jobs influence your work?

JC: Every job has helped in its own way. Writing at a magazine helped with my editing. At P&P, I used to talk about books, and get excited about them like I did when I was younger. I wanted to share books, which made me excited to read and write.

Q: Talk about your writing process.

JC: I have always written. As a kid, I took writing in college, and starting thinking that maybe I could do this as a job. My process is a mess. I start with a notebook and don’t type for a while. Handwriting seems better. Then I eventually move to a Word document, which I print after about 150-200 pages to see what I have. Usually it’s “the writing of a mad person”. The first draft is a disaster. The second draft is when I retype the whole thing. This part is both helpful and annoying. The third draft is a real draft. I like to work on paper, using a specific pen.

Q: Will your next work have multiple narrators, like your first two did?

JC: My next book may be told in first person. It has a great voice, but it might be limiting. When you’re bored with someone, as a writer, it’s nice to move on to someone else.

Q: Does good writing just flow out of you?

JC: There are days that are great when the writing flows, but that doesn’t happen every day. People have asked me, “Are there ever days when you just don’t feel like writing?” Yes – every day! Some days are really hard. Some people may write good, clean first drafts. Good for them! I have great times and low times.

Really looking forward to reading this one. Thanks for the great reading at P&P, Jennifer Close!

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General Q&A

Interviews with J. Courtney Sullivan and Jonathan Tropper

August 26, 2012 – 4:59 pm

I have recently read a few interviews with authors that I like a lot, and thought I’d share them here.

First is an interview with Jonathan Tropper from The Forward. In it, he reveals that he is recently divorced from his wife, the status of the various screenplay adaptations of his novels, and the roots of his interest in writing. I am 1/3 through his latest novel – One Last Thing Before I Go, which I am listening to on audio.

Second is a New York Times interview with J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Maine (reviewed here). She reveals what’s on her nightstand, her greatest influences, and her definition of the perfect novel.

Enjoy!

Tags author interviews, j. courtney sullivan, Jonathan Tropper | Permalink | Comment (0)

Fiction Q&A

Q&A With Susan Barr-Toman, Author of WHEN LOVE WAS CLEAN UNDERWEAR

April 29, 2011 – 4:57 pm

First things first. Congratulations to the winner of Meg Wolitzer's The Uncoupling, which I reviewed on Monday: Tawnya at Drawn to the Flame!

Earlier this week I reviewed an excellent debut novel by Susan Barr-Toman called When Love Was Clean Underwear. Susan was kind enough to answer some questions for me, and her answers were very interesting to read. (I recommend reading them now, then reading the book, and then coming back to read them again. Just don't read the spoiler question before you read the book!)

Here is the Q&A. Thanks, Susan!

Q: Do you know someone like Lucy? What was your inspiration for her character?

A: I do know people like Lucy, and I have had many people come up to me after readings to tell me the same. When I was writing the novel, people kept saying, “you have to make Lucy younger,” or “something terribly must happen for her to be a virgin at 30.” People assume everyone is like them or like characters on sitcoms. There are people who live with their parents. There are people who hold on to their virginity for many reasons. In this case Lucy is a practicing Catholic, and thanks to her mother she also has poor self-esteem. And as you know, her mother has issues.

However, this is not an autobiographical novel. My mother is alive and well and never smoked a cigarette in her life. I was not a virgin at 30. I was married at 27, and no man is that patient.

Q: The South Philadelphia neighborhood that Lucy lives in plays a large role in your book. How did you pick the setting?

A: Actually South Philadelphia was the inspiration for the novel. I heard this story about a young couple who weren’t from South Philadelphia, but had bought a row home there. Since the house had been in the family for generations and had not been updated, they bought it for a low price with the plan to gut it. What they didn’t know is that they had bought the house of a deceased woman whose sisters lived on either side. So they were constantly harassed by the sisters each time they changed anything.

I began to wonder who could move into that house and be intimidated by these women. That’s where Lucy came from. She’s a woman who grew up in a nearby neighborhood and understands tradition. She has lived in the same house her whole life, the house her father was raised in, and only moves out against her will.

I wanted to capture the family feel of the neighborhood – the nosiness, the unsolicited advice, but also, the eagerness to know, to help.

Q: I am in awe of people who write novels – it seems so overwhelming to me. When do you write, and how do you stay disciplined? How long did When Love Was Clean Underwear take to write?

A: I began writing in earnest when I was pregnant with my first child and I took a continuing education class called “Write Your Novel Now.” At the beginning of the class, the instructor asked why each of us was there. My reason – I didn’t want to be a stage mom. I’d always wanted to write and always found reasons not to. I didn’t want to be one of those people who pushed her child to fulfill her dreams. I wanted to be able to say, pursue your dreams, follow your bliss, and actually be an example of that.

WLWCU was written when I had two young children at home. In the beginning, I would write during my son’s morning nap, and he was a wonderfully consistent napper. During his afternoon nap, I would take care of the household tasks. When he switched to one nap a day, let’s just say, we didn’t have company over much.

There was something about having that limited time to get it done. Before kids, I always thought I needed large spans of time to do any kind of real work. For most of us, those long spans never come, and you have to learn to squeeze in the work. When I was expecting my daughter, I was very motivated to finish a draft of the novel, knowing that with two my time would be even more limited.

All and all, it took about eight years.

Q: Are you writing a second novel now?

A: Yes. I’m working on my second novel and hope to finish it this year. It’s the story of a friendship between two couples who met in college. Ten years later as they are about to start families, secrets come out and loyalties shift.

I also continue to write short stories. My story “Town Watch” will be published in an anthology called South Philly Fiction this fall. But really, I do venture into other parts of Philly in my fiction.

Q: There are so few redeemable characters in the book, yet it was such a pleasure to read. Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic about human nature?

A: I don’t see the characters as unredeemable, so much as flawed. Lucy is so malleable and the other characters recognize that. They see an opportunity to turn her into what they think she should be, into what they need her to be. Flawed as they are, each of them wants to be loved and to love. Just like Lucy. Just like all of us. So yes, I am optimistic about human nature.

Q: ****Spoiler Alert!*** OK, I have to know… Tony or Jack? Or does Lucy reject them both? ***Spoiler Alert!***

A: At the end of the novel, Lucy says she will call Jack the next day. So it isn’t over. When I was in the midst of writing the novel, I wasn’t sure exactly how it would end, but I knew Lucy would be alone and it would be a good thing.

But remember, Tony is upfront about what he wants, why he loves Lucy. He pursues her. Jack knew Lucy for years and didn’t do anything until Marge died. Still it’s Lucy, Lucy! who has to make the first move. So Jack needs to work on being worthy. Of course, who wouldn’t love a man who wants to do home improvement projects and is a great kisser?

Tags debut novel, Meg Wolitzer, Q&A, South Philadelphia, Susan Barr-Toman, The Uncoupling, When Love Was Clean Underwear | Permalink | Comment (0)

Fiction Q&A

Q&A With Lauren Grodstein, Author of A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY

October 10, 2010 – 11:51 pm

I was lucky enough to get TWO authors that I admire to answer my questions last week. The first was Jean Kwok, author of Girl in Translation. The second was Lauren Grodstein, whose book A Friend of the Family I read last year and loved (click here for my review)

I also have a copy of A Friend of the Family to give away to an EDIWTB reader. To enter, leave a comment here with your email address, and I will pick a name at random on Thursday, October 14. Thanks to Lauren Grodstein for taking the time to answer my questions and to Algonquin for the copy of the book.

Here is the Q&A:

Q: This book was one of my favorites of 2009. The question on my mind the whole time was: how did you get yourself into the mindset of a fiftysomething man so convincingly? Did you base the book on someone you know?

A: Pete really isn't based on anyone I know – in fact, I have a hard time writing people I know, since I become so consumed with getting the depiction "right" that I forget I also have to make it good. So Pete was truly a figment of my imagination, although certain things – the doctor stuff especially – was based on some of the experiences of the doctors I know, friends and people in my family. As for how I got into his mindset, I just woke up one day, as corny as it sounds, and Pete's voice was in my head. It was just there, like a radio announcer's. He talked me through the whole manuscript, and when I was done with it, he was gone. It almost felt like transcription though while it was happening, though, like someone was dictating to me the most important details of his life. It was kind of magical even though I don't really believe writing is magic.

Q. As a parent, watching Pete lose control over his son's future was extremely disturbing. Is this a cautionary tale for parents, with the moral being that in the end, we are powerless over our children's destinies?

A: I try not to write cautionary tales, or write stories with any particular moral or meaning. All I ask of my novels is that they entertain, that they make the reader want to keep turning pages. If people find some lessons in them, that's terrific, but it's not what I ever set out to do.

Q: Who are some of your favorite authors?

A: Ah – I love so so many different writers! Philip Roth, Richard Ford, Evan S. Connell, Elizabeth Strout, Zadie Smith – and then also Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton, Ring Lardner, MFK Fisher. And I love mystery novels and I read cookbooks like they're thrillers, and also, with my two year old, I've rediscovered my love of Richard Scarry and Dr. Seuss.

Q. I'd love to hear about how you plotted A Friend of the Family, which I thought was perfectly paced. Did you have the whole story outlined from the start, or did you let it develop as you wrote?

A: I always work with a rough outline, and as I'm finishing one chapter I'm sketching out the next. But the plot of Friend was, in some ways, really just a series of flashbacks, and I wrote them in a sort of piecemeal way, and then had to rejigger them after I'd finished my first few drafts so that they'd make more sense to the reader.

Q. What is your writing process like? Do you write for the same amount of time every day, or do you let inspiration strike when it may?

A: When I'm in the middle of a novel, I'm all about page counts. Ten pages a day for that first draft, and if it takes me four hours to write them, great, and if it takes me all day, then I'm going to sit in that chair all day. The ten pages don't have to be any good – and usually they're not – but I worry about that in the second draft. For the first draft, I just want to bang it out so that I can then begin re-drafting, reimagining; for me, that's where the fun stuff really begins.

Q. What are you working on now?

A: A new novel! Right now I've got a Colombian finch, a shoebox full of alcoholic mice, and a famous evolutionary biologist. We'll see where this goes.

Tags A Friend of the Family, Lauren Grodstein, Q&A | Permalink | Comments (6)

Fiction Q&A

Interview with Jean Kwok, author of GIRL IN TRANSLATION

October 6, 2010 – 10:24 pm

I was extremely lucky to get hooked up with Jean Kwok, author of Girl in Translation, through a friend of a friend. I read her book in June and really liked it – here is my review. She answered some questions for me over email, and I am thrilled to share them here. Thank you, Jean!

One warning – the answer to the last question contains spoilers. Don't read it if you haven't read Girl in Translation yet! I don't want to spoil the book for you. Jean said that she hasn't answered that question before, though she has wanted to, so I am grateful to her for answering it here.

Q: I noticed that the style of writing in Girl in Translation changed over the course of the book – it started out somewhat choppy and got more sophisticated as it went along. I am guessing that it was intended to mirror Kimberly's facility with English. Can you confirm?

A: You are exactly right. I wanted to my readers to truly undergo the immigrant experience in a way I hadn't seen done in fiction before. I used language as a filter, so that all we could understand of English was what Kimberly could, but we could hear Chinese expressions like a native speaker. I wanted readers to feel what it was like to be on the other side of the language barrier, so that some English was simply gibberish, and they could feel the frustrations that a foreigner feels. The gradual change in style was indeed meant to mirror Kimberly's growing sophistication with the language and culture.

Q. On your website, you said that you wrote the book for your mother, so that people could see how clever she was in Chinese (which doesn't always translate in English). Has she read Girl in Translation in Chinese? In English? What was her reaction?

My mother hasn't been able to read the novel, because she still doesn't speak English. However, the novel has gotten enough international attention that articles about it have been published in Chinese, and she has read those. She's proud of me, but more importantly, I think that the publication of the novel has transformed my family's perception of our past. We (myself included) were always very secretive regarding our poor background and the hardships we'd overcome. It'd been a source of shame, but now that the novel is out, and people have responded so warmly, we've all grown to perceive our background as a source of pride instead. Other people from similar backgrounds have told me how glad they were to read the novel, to hear such injustices told aloud, and to feel that their story had been truthfully told and appreciated.

Q. You wrote on your website that you sometimes felt closer to books than to anyone you knew. I look at books as friends, as well, and for that reason I have resisted e-readers and downloadable books. I like to revisit them and scan their spines on my shelves. What's your opinion of electronic books?

I love my paper books and find it a sacrilege to write in them or turn down their pages. There is absolutely nothing like a real book, and ebooks could never replace them. I love having the sense of physically where I am in the book, the pages that are well-worn because I've read them over and over again.

However, I am a fan of electronic books as well. I fully understand why some people don't like them, and the experience of reading them is different, but I love them as an addition to paper books. First of all, I live in Holland, so my ebook reader (I have a Kindle) allows me to get books instantly and without shipping and customs fees. Secondly, I read so much and for so many different reasons. Often, I need to read a book for practical reasons, like research or because I need to see what an author is doing with structure or language. There are books that I'll only read once and don't need to take up space on my shelf. Finally, I travel a lot for book tours and publicity, and need to pack light. Since I read fast, I can't bring enough books to fill up the hours I spend in airports. Instead of staring at the walls, I can now read, so I buy an extra ebook version of books I like.

I find that because I have an ebook reader, I buy many more books than I would otherwise. When I really enjoy a book on my Kindle, I always buy the paper version as well. In fact, if I know it'll be a book I'll love (when written by a favorite author, for example), I always buy the real book and the ebook! It's true that I don't feel like I really "own" a book until I have the paper one.

Basically, I use my ebook reader for books that I read only once (which I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise) and for travel. When I truly like a book, I now buy it twice: once in paper and once for the ebook reader!

Q. Can you share some details about what you're working on now? I know that there are many people who are eager for your next book!

That's very nice to hear! I am hard at work on my next novel now, and hope to finish it in the first half of next year. It draws upon my own experience in the professional ballroom dance world. I worked as a professional ballroom dancer for three years in between my degrees at Harvard and Columbia. In that time, I taught dance lessons and did shows and competitions. This novel is set both in Chinatown and in the professional ballroom dance world. I love bringing readers into new worlds, and I hope that this will be something fresh and interesting for them.

I'll be posting the latest news on my website and Facebook fan page:

Q. The ending – there were two distinct directions you could have taken. What made you choose the one you did? I was surprised by it, and would love to know what pushed you in that direction.

I don't feel that I chose this ending because I saw the entire story in a flash — I had an image of the child under the mannequin, the older woman looking at her, and the man coming into the room, and the entire book unfurled before my eyes, including this ending. It was always an integral part of the novel for me. The one change that I do regret a bit is that the last chapter was originally written as an epilogue, and in the course of editing the book, I felt that the title "Epilogue" was no longer necessary and deleted it. Some readers have protested the change in pacing in the last chapter, and I think the fact that it was an epilogue would have clarified a lot.

The decisions that Kimberly made were the ones that I felt were true and natural to her character. Remember, she isn't fully Americanized and what she did was in keeping with her Chinese values, including preserving the integrity of the family at all costs. If you've already read the book, here is a fuller discussion:

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*

DO NOT READ THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK!!

I know that the ending of the novel has inspired fierce debate. I too wish that she could have simply told Matt the truth, and it just KILLS me that she didn't reveal everything to him. I also wish they could have ridden off into the sunset together, since they love each other so passionately.

However, given Kimberly's Chinese heritage, what she did was the right choice. Kimberly's reticence, her ability to stay silent about something so important, is quite Chinese and it is something that is at odds with the openness of American culture. She sacrificed herself for Matt's happiness with his own family. She also understood that, in the end, he wasn't the right man for her. They love each other with all their hearts, but that's not enough to build a life together. He couldn't be happy with a wife as ambitious and talented and independent as she was. In the end, Kimberly had to choose who she truly was over who she wanted to be with.

Of course, I also recognize that the story hasn't been fully played out. For one thing, there is Jason, who will grow up and ask questions. While I won't write a sequel to this novel (because it would be tacked-on), I do know what happens to the characters in the coming years and will be giving readers brief cameos of some of the characters in future books. Rest assured that Kimberly will be just fine.

Tags Girl in Translation, interview, Jean Kwok | Permalink | Comments (9)

Q&A

Q&A with Audrey Niffenegger and THE NIGHT BOOKMOBILE

September 23, 2010 – 6:30 am

I went to a reading last Saturday by Audrey Niffenegger from her graphic novel, The Night Bookmobile. It was a treat to hear her in person. I am a big fan of The Time Traveler's Wife, and I've always wondered about the genius behind the book.

The Night Bookmobile is about a woman who periodically encounters a bookmobile (always late at night) that contains every book she's ever read. She searches for the bookmobile and its kindly but distant librarian everywhere she goes, but she only finds it on rare occasions. When she does, she is happy and at peace - but what does the bookmobile mean, and why is it so elusive?

The Night Bookmobile shows Niffenegger's macabre side (which was always present in The Time Traveler's Wife), as well as her love of literature and reading. It's a quick but memorable read. It also showcases her considerable artistic talents – she has a degree in printmaking – through her drawings, which convey the loneliness of the narrator and the shadowy, nocturnal mood of the book.

After her reading, Niffenegger stuck around for a Q&A:

Inspiration for The Night Bookmobile? The Night Bookmobile was originally a short story that became a comic. She was inspired by an H.G. Wells story, The Door in the Wall, about a kid who discovers a garden with panthers, fairies and magical creatures. She calls The Night Bookmobile a story about "the perils of reading too much" and admits that she "can find the dark side in pretty much anything I write about" and that she "has a bad habit of killing her characters".

Did you like the movie version of The Time Traveler's Wife compared to the book? Niffenegger hasn't seen the movie version, an act which she calls "cowardly". She read the script and felt that the film people were getting at something different from what she was. Writers have an advantage over screenwriters, who are trying to create a map for filmmakers to fill out. She recommends that screenwriters adapt short stories rater than novels so they don't have to smoosh an entire book into a screenplay. (She is writing the screenplay for Her Fearful Symmetry herself.)

Librarians play a large role in your books. Have any in particular inspired you? Many, and teachers too. There are a lot of librarians in The Time Traveler's Wife who are real people at the Newberry Library in Chicago.

Thank you to Audrey Niffenegger for stopping by!

Tags audrey niffenegger, Q&A, the night bookmobile | Permalink | Comments (3)

Q&A

BBAW Interview Swap and Book Giveaway #2

September 14, 2010 – 12:01 am

Today is my favorite part of Book Blogger Appreciation Week- the interview swap!! But before I get to that, here is today's BBAW Book Giveaway: A Curable Romantic, by Joseph Skibell. Here's what it's about:

As far as romance goes, Dr. Jakob Sammelsohn is fairly incurable. Twice married, once divorced, once widowed—all by the tender age of twelve— he finally flees his small village and his pious, vengeful father. A lovelorn candide, young Dr. Sammelsohn wanders optimistically through history—pursued by the amorous ghost of his dead wife.

Arriving in Vienna in 1890, a chance encounter with Sigmund Freud leads our hero into the arms of Emma Eckstein, one of Freud’s most famous patients. Later he romances the beautiful and wealthy Loë Bernfeld, who carries him into the world of Esperanto and the universal language movement. Finally, Dr. Sammelsohn finds himself in the Warsaw ghetto in 1940, only to become a pawn in a battle over the path to heaven.

A Curable Romantic is a novel of personal and historical exile that could spring only from the literary imagination of a virtuoso. Often fantastical yet always grounded in tradition and history, it is that rare literary feat —a truly incomparable tale, ingenuously told, peopled with characters who live on in the memory.

If you'd like to win a copy of A Curable Romantic, leave a comment here and I will pick a name on Saturday, September 18 (US addresses only). Good luck!

And now to the interview swap. I was paired with Sandy Nawrot from You've GOTTA Read This!, which I was very excited about because I have read Sandy's blog before and really enjoy it. She is featuring an interview with me today on her site, and here is my interview with her.

Bio of Sandy from You've GOTTA Read This!: I was an executive six years ago and quit to stay home with my kids (aged 12 and 10). Therefore my jobs now are to take care of the house, pool, yard, be a slave to my kids’ schedules, volunteer at the kids’ school, and support my husband. I wouldn’t go back if you paid me a million dollars. I’ve been married for 18 years. I love to cook, I love to play golf (though I suck), and we love to travel. I am an audio book addict. I’ve been blogging since November of 2008.

1. You read and review a pretty wide range of books – thrillers, mysteries, YA, literary fiction. Do you have a favorite? How would you characterize your taste in books?

You are right, I am all over the place! And I love different things on different days depending on my mood. But if I HAD to pick one genre that I would take with me to a deserted island, it would be true crime. I love well-written mysteries (I’m currently besotted with Tana French right now), but knowing that the story is true blows my mind each and every time. Then I have to go browsing on the Internet for more information after I finish. (That makes me sound morbid doesn’t it?) If you look through my posts, though, you would never know. Some of my favorite books this year have been good old-fashioned literary fiction, and I’ve also been known to get obsessive over WWII novels as well.

2. How do you decide what you are going to read next – by a schedule, or more by what you are in the mood for when you finish a book?

I am a big mess when it comes to my reading schedule. Obviously I honor my blog tours and ARC’s first, though lately that has been cramping my style and I’ve been very selective on what I accept. I also attempt to pick away at my challenges, but that is starting to annoy me too. I am fickle, and would really prefer to read whatever has captured my interest at that moment. I’m going to make that a goal for next year.

3. When and where do you do your blogging?

I have a little netbook that goes everywhere with me. Usually it is set up at my kitchen table, so I can blog amongst the chaos (ha), but I will drag it outside by the pool, or to my comfy drinking/reading chair, or in the car when I am waiting, waiting, forever waiting. I think I am at my best during the day when it is quiet in the house, but I take any opportunity I can find.

4. Are you an e-reader fan, or do you like old-fashioned paper books?

I love them all! I am an equal opportunity reader. I love the feel and smell of a paper book, but I spend about half my time listening to audio books, and I also have a Kindle. Sometimes I wonder if I could squeeze any more reading into my day.

5. What do you do when you don't love a book – write a brutally honest review, try to focus only on the positive, or skip the review?

I definitely won’t shy away from a negative review. I try to find positive things to say along with the negative because not everyone is going to feel the way I do. But I will definitely make it clear why I didn’t love a book. And I have a rating system, which ultimately should remove any doubt.

6. What advice do you have for someone starting a book blog?

First and foremost, it should be fun! There are no rules, so you can do whatever you want. You can post once a week, once a month or every day. (Similar advice that you gave in your interview! I think I need to listen to my own words…) The other advice that I received from my sister when I started was to be sociable. Stop by and leave comments, and eventually others will come back and see what you are all about. It is kind of a shocker when you publish your first post and people don’t automatically come flocking to read your words!

7. What's the best book you've read this year?

I’m not sure I can give you one! I loved Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. I loved Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Then I have this general gushing love for Marisa de los Santos and Tana French. Anything they write is my favorite!

Thanks for the great interview, Sandy!